MPs Accuse Poundland's Owner of Taking Millions as Chain Seeks More Time

MPs have accused Gordon Brothers, the owner of Poundland, of taking millions of pounds out of the discount retailer while it was on a knife-edge. The accusation came as Poundland seeks more time to secure a rescue deal. Liam Byrne, chair of the Commons business select committee, said Gordon Brothers had taken the money over the last 17 months.

Poundland employs 12,000 people and runs 600 stores across the UK and Ireland. Gordon Brothers bought the chain for a nominal price of £1 from Pepco in June 2025, according to The Guardian. Pepco still holds £7.5m of the £30m of debt that shareholders had taken on in the chain when Gordon Brothers bought it.

Byrne said he was deeply concerned that Gordon Brothers' behaviour may have jeopardised thousands of jobs on Britain's high streets. He said the company had refused to say it would put saving jobs ahead of its own financial returns. Mark Newton-Jones, Gordon Brothers' European head, gave evidence in private to the committee for almost two hours on Wednesday afternoon.

The retailer's management team, led by Barry Williams, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, insolvency specialists who take over a company's affairs when it cannot pay its debts. That filing gives a company temporary legal protection from creditors, the people and firms it owes money to. Management was to ask the High Court on Thursday morning for a two-week extension of that protection, which requires the court's approval.

Without the protection in place, Poundland was likely to call in administrators, with the advisory firm AlixPartners already lined up. Gordon Brothers was understood to support the extension. It had also released an additional £10m to help Poundland secure new stock and keep trading.

Gordon Brothers is in talks with three potential bidders for the entire Poundland chain, according to the same report. Bids were understood to be worth less than the £30m of shareholder debt. The company is also still in talks with Martin Property Group, a family-owned firm based in Northern Ireland that is backing a management-led rescue bid. That bid would include the Dealz chain in Ireland. Martin Property Group's first bid for Poundland has been rejected.